When using particularly baby food, such as baby milk, and even other flowable and/or pasty bottled materials, maintaining of the utmost sterility is a prior condition for proper medical use or for a sufficient storability. Hereby, there exists a close technical relationship between the type of the sterile closure of the filled bottles and the manner in which these bottles are opened and put into their contemplated use.
For example, in the case of baby milk and particularly in clinical use where a great number of bottles must be opened and offered to the babies several times a day, it is not only necessary that handling is made under sterile and clean conditions, but also that handling can be made quickly and at low cost. Primarily, however, it depends on the type of the bottling process with what kind of closure the bottles are provided, whereby corresponding devices for opening purposes, in turn, must be adapted to these closures.
For reasons of production processes, the use of membranes or diaphragms attached to the bottle opening under sufficiently aseptic conditions is not possible, such that the bottles must be subjected to a final heat or thermal sterilization after the final bottling step. However, this thermal sterilization to a substantial degree affects the quality of the milk and, besides, involves additional expenditure of production, particularly also in view of the danger of unintentional breaking of the diaphragm. Furthermore, an opening device (Swiss Pat. 525,001) which is known in these respects, has a blunt edge in the bottle cover for opening the associated bottle opening, which edge is capable of opening the bottle only on the condition that the closure diaphragm has a notch of a suitable shape which is aligned with the pressure path of the blunt edge. Hereby, the opening of the diaphragm along the notch is effected by breaking or pressing it open, and not by cutting. Finally, the necessity for a diaphragm notched as a breaking point also increases the danger of unintentionally disturbing the tightness of the sealing and, thus, of a reinfection on the way to the customer, whereby the bottle may become leaky or unservicable, respectively, and its contents may flow out, too.
Another known bottle closure (laid-open German patent application 2,109,743) includes a stopper which is pressed into the bottle through its opening when manipulating the teat drawn over the stopper. Likewise, this bottle closure does not ensure sufficiently aseptic conditions, either, whereby the stopper can cause further restraints by clogging during the dispensing of the bottle content.
These disadvantages are principally eliminated or minimized in the present bottling method wherein the milk which, has been heated to an ultra-high temperature and rendered sterile in advanvce is bottled under aseptic conditions concurrently with the molding of the associated plastic bottle, whereby the upper and face of the bottle is sealed integrally with the remainder of the bottle material such that the bottle and the point of the contemplated opening are of equal strength.
Further, there is known a closure diaphragm made of plastic material and integrally connected to the bottle, whereby the inner face of the threaded cover bears a spike which pierces the closure diaphragm when the cover is threadingly screwed onto the bottle, such that the content of the bottle can be dispensed through the spike which is formed as a tubular member. However, this known opening system suffers from the disadvantage that the spike formed as a tubular member offers a relatively restricted cross-section which, moreover, is susceptible to clogging, too. An unlimited increasing of the diameter of the spike is opposed by constructional difficulties arising in its attachment within the screw-on cap. In particular, when using a tubular spike it is not possible to mount a screen plate or a screen upstream of the passage to the teat in order to prevent clogging of the teat by small compacted particles of the milk.
Accordingly, it is the object of the invention to provide a device for a feeding bottle or the like for babies which reliably eliminates the disadvantages of the conventional bottles of the kind, such that, in particular, not only bottling and storage or transport under absolutely sterile conditions, i.e., without the necessity for a thermal sterilization with the milk being in the bottle, are guaranteed, but also that the contemplated bottle opening may be opened as wide as possible. Primarily, the invention at the same time is contemplated to provide an optimum simple and inexpensive constructional configuration which, with a view to automated mass production, provides a disposable bottle without affecting the criterion of the easy and trouble-free handling from production until after readiness for use.
For the solution of this object, the invention in a device as outlined at the beginning is characterized in that in a bottle made of plastic material which, in the course of molding it under aseptic conditions, is simultaneously filled with sterile bottle contents, and wherein the closure wall covering the contemplated bottle opening is also formed integrally with the remainder of the bottle material, said means for the opening of said bottle includes at least one sharp cutting edge, and there is provided between said opening means and said means for the sterile dispensing of the bottle contents, a screen means to retain chips produced by said cutting edge and other larger particles present within said bottle.
In the combination of an opening means provided with especially a sharp cutting edge and of the screen means, the function according to the invention results from the fact that the cutting edge permits to cut, with low force, an opening into the bottle top even in the case of the special bottles employed which have a relatively thick and tough cover wall, which opening, additionally, defines a flow cross-section of such a magnitude that a screen means may be provided therein without disadvantageously affecting the total flow cross-section, which screen means is effective to retain chips which might have been formed during the process of cutting open the bottle head. Naturally, it is an additional advantage of the preferred screen means that other greater particles, e.g., cloddy portions even of the milk, can be prevented from clogging the teat. In this way, the device according to the invention is always functionable, and the sterility of the milk food cannot be impaired, e.g., by manually grasping the teat if clogging has occured.
By applying the invention, it is possible to separately supply the closed bottles and the devices to be threadingly engaged therewith and serving for the sterile dispensing of the bottle content, whereby the dispensing devices are maintained in a sterile package which can be opened, e.g., by means of a tear-up film or tear-up strip.
Preferably, the device of the above-mentioned kind should be formed in such a manner that there is provided between said device and said bottle neck an unbreakable latch or locking means to prevent inadvertent rotation of said device in that direction in which said cutting edge cuts the opening provided for dispensing the contents, such that no damage of the bottle wall by unintentional movement of the cutting means results during assembling of the cutting means on the bottle head either shortly after the bottling step or at a later point of time. This latch means against unintentional actuation is effective in an advantageous manner both during storing and transporting and during the handling while heating the bottles.
Furthermore, it may be additionally contemplated that the unbreakable latch comprises means for preventing germs from entering into the inner space of the device interiorly of such latch. In such case, the closure device may be attached directly during the bottling step of the bottle and left on the bottle until its contents are consumed. Alternatively, the closure device may be supplied in a sterile container and attached to the bottle head at a later point of time.
According to the invention, the cutting edge is secured to the device so as to be snapped into the latter to be fixed against rotation and axial displacement, and such cutting edge is made of metal.
In combination therewith, said means provided on the inner face of said device is positioned such as to sealingly enclose under sterile conditions an inner space interiorly of said device in which said cutting edge is maintained in readiness above the unopened bottle.
According to the invention, to this end there is provided particularly a separate gasket extending around the bottle neck within the closed annulus, which gasket is adapted to exert a sufficient sealing pressure while being independent of the threads per se. This gasket seals the interior space around the bottle opening and interiorly of the teat from the time when the threaded closure device is mounted to the bottle head under sterile conditions, substantially until the time when the bottle is used, and at the same time, as a combination effect, forms an effective lock or latch against unintentional actuation of the threaded closure device beyond its permissible position of readiness. This holds true both for the threading engagement of the threaded closure device during assembling, and for the handling during shipment and storage. Thereafter, assembling can be effected directly at factory or, alternatively, at a time shortly before use.
Hereby, the device may either comprise a continuous annular bead in the inner face of the device and a corresponding dual bead disposed around the bottle neck, which form the sealing means, whereby the bead provided in the device sealingly engages into the fillet defined between said dual bead, or analogously, a continuous annular dual bead and a corresponding single bead or stop around the bottle neck may form the sealing means. The described beads and fillets constitute some of many equivalent solutions only, whereby, advantageously, the beads forming the sealing means may be integrally connected to the respectively associated part at least in the device or on the bottle neck.
A particularly advantageous material combination resides in that said device consists of a hard plastic material, and the bottle neck consists of soft plastic material.
An advantageous overall combination consists in that said means for the sterile removal or discharge of the bottle contents is connectible to said inner space through an opening in the cover end face of said device and said means is maintained with its outer edge (radial flange) in abutment with the rear face of a marginal flange of said cover end face surrounding said opening; said cutting edge being formed as a portion separate from said device and disposed with butting engagement on the side of said dispensing means directed towards the interior of said device; and said cover end face or end wall, including said dispensing means, is covered under sterile conditions by a protective hood which is removably secured to the lateral edge of said device.
The dispensing means may comprise -- for conventional use -- a baby teat or, alternatively, a toughly flexible membrane or diaphragm which, when pierced by a cannula, retains the latter against sliding out therefrom and seals the edge of the pierced hole, and simultaneously clamps the cannula. Similarly, the dispensing means may comprise a sealing projection or fitting on the cover end face for attachment of a probe connection, or for the removal of a pasty bottle content, a body formed in a spoon-shaped fashion and including cover flaps or a pair of parts contacting each other in lip-like fashion.
Accordingly, the device according to the invention is not only useful for feeding bottles, but also for infusion liquids or for blood plasma containers or the like. With the spoonlike or lip-shaped dispensing means, the invention is also applicable to sick diet in paste form (or optionally also in powderous form) and also for the feeding in extreme situations, such as in astronautics.
Particularly advantageous constructional embodiments which at the same time facilitate the assembling which must be performed under sterile conditions, could consist in that said cutting means is secured within said device against rotation and fixed against axial displacement with a snap fit on the one hand by means of projections (bosses) provided on its lateral edge and on the other hand by means of recesses at positions of the inner face of said device corresponding to the inserting position or location of said cutting means. The reversed arrangement offers the same advantages, too.
It is also possible -- with a certain telescoping effect -- that said cutting means is mounted against rotation in said device by means of a knurled rim provided on its lateral edge or by means of separate teeth of such rim and corresponding (complementary) axially extending recesses at positions of the inner face of said device corresponding to the inserting position of said cutting means, and fixed against axial movement by a bead-shaped projection provided on the inner face of said device on the side of said cutting means which is directed away from said dispensing means, whereby said cutting means is adapted to be attached to or inserted into said device by snapping in behind said projection.
Particular advantages with respect to manufacturing can be obtained if said cutting means is stamped from metal, and projections (bosses) at positions on the inner face of said device, which inner side tapers conically in this case, corresponding to the location of said cutting means serving to wedge said cutting means with a snap fit against rotation and against axial displacement within said device.
It may be of additional advantage if a sealing washer is positioned between said cutting means and said bottle top such that a sealed connection is provided when the bottle opening is cut open.
Maintaining of the sterility can be improved in that the apparatus includes around the upper lateral edge adjacent said cover and face and extending up to an annular shoulder a smaller diameter portion in which the free edge of said protective hood is positioned, whereby the outer surface of said edge of said hood and the height of said annular shoulder are related to each other in such a manner that these parts are flush with each other.
If the edge of the protective hood is hereby secured by an adhesive tape or by a tear-up tape construction, a multiple seal is obtained in teats consisting of non-weldable latex, namely on the one hand by the adhesive tape, further by the tight fit of the teat on the device and, finally, by the radial flange of the teat which is clamped between the cutting means and the marginal flange of the end wall.